Method of recessing the sinkhead of ingots and the like



Oct. 18, 1949. M. s. PAPAZIAN 2,485,065

METHOD OF RECESSING THE S D OF ING 5 AND THE L 'ginal Fil May 21, 1943F7 l E A ger/k5 %Z zm ,gmazflb ik Patented Oct. 18, 1949 METHOD OFRECESSING THE SINKHEAD OF INGOTS AND THE LIKE Martin S. Papazian,Worcester, Mass., assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of NewJersey, a corporation of New Jersey Continuation of application SerialNo. 487,930, May 21, 1943. This application November 27, 1946, SerialNo. 712,615

Claims. (01. 22-190) This invention relates to ingots and the like and,particularly, to an improved method of recessing the opposed side wallsthereof for receiving the jaws or tongs of a crane or other liftingmechanism.

In the manufacture of ingots in the steel industry, it is customary inthe forming of big end up molds to provide a hot top for a purpose wellknown to those skilled in the art. After the mold has been poured andthe mold has cooled, the hot top is removed and the mold is strippedfrom the ingot, usually by means of an overhead stripping crane whichcarries downwardly extending jaws 0r tongs for engaging opposed sideWalls of the ingot in a well known manner.

Generally, there is arranged on the lower ends of the jaws or tongs ofthe stripper crane, extremely sharp points or bits which bite into theside walls of the ingot for firmly gripping the same while the cranelifts the ingot from the molds. These sharp points of the gripping jawstend to gouge into the side walls of the ingot, and, oftentimes, lightseams or other defects result in the slab or bloom formed therefromwhich, of course, is objectionable. Also oftentimes the points or bitsof the gripping jaws or tongs would not properly bite into the ingot sothat the same was not securely and firmly gripped by the tongs therebycreating a safety hazard to the workmen in the vicinity of the strippingor lifting operations. According to the present invention, the opposedside walls of the hot top of the ingot are recessed for receiving thegripping jaws of the tongs of the stripping or other lifting mechanismthereby eliminating the above mentioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention toprovide an improved method of casting ingots and the like whereby theopposed side walls of the hot top of the ingot are recessed forreceiving the jaws or tongs of the stripping or lifting mechanism;

It is another object of this invention to recess the opposed side wallsof the hot top of ingots and the like for receiving the jaws or tongs ofthe stripping mechanism so as to aid materially the stripping andhandling of the ingots, and to provide a more efficient and effectivemeans of gripping the same, and at the same time, to provide a muchsafer means of handling the ingots than by the present practice.

Various other objects and advantages of this In the accompanyingdrawings there is shown, for the purpose of illustration, an embodimentwhich my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the top of an ingot mold and thehot top thereof showing my invention incorporated therewith;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the top of an ingot and the hot topthereof showing the side wall recessed in accordance with the teachingsof the present invention;

Figure 3 is a top side view of an ingot partly in section showing theopposed side walls thereof recessed for receiving the jaws or tongs of acrane;

Figure 4 is a side view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical section through one side of the top of an ingotshowing the core positioned therein after the casting of the ingot; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the core of my invention for recessingthe opposed side walls of w an ingot.

invention will be more apparent in the course Referring moreparticularly to the drawings, the improved means for recessing theopposed side walls of an ingot or the like consists preferably, of anelongated wedge-shaped core-like member 2 which is adapted to be cast inthe metal of the ingot during the casting thereof. The elongatedcore-like members 2, as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, are made of arefractory material and, preferably, are formed or cut from a 2 x 4 x9", standard firebrick. The hot top 3 of the ingot mold is usually linedwith a refractory material or firebrick as at 5, and the corelikemembers 2 are preferably cemented to the inner opposed side wallsthereof, preferably by means of suitable cement. Each of the-core-likemembers 2 is arranged substantially horizontal and centrally of the sidewalls with the thickest part thereof being uppermost, and it ispreferable that these core members be positioned on the side walls ofthe hot top at a point approximately 12" from thetop of the hot top sothat they will not be displaced from the side walls during the pouringof the molten metal into the ingot mold, as shown in Figure 1 of thedrawings.

As the molten metal is poured or cast into the mold and the hot top, itwill be seen that the molten metal will flow around each of the corelikemembers 2 as the metal approaches a level near the top of the hot topand they are embedded in the hot top of the ingot after the pouringoperation. After the molten metal has been solidified therein, the hottop 3 is removed from the top of the mold 4 and from around the ingothot top 6 of the ingot 1. As the hot top is removed from the mold andthe top of the ingot, it will be seen that the core-like members 2 aresevered or disconnected from their positions on the inner side walls ofthe hot top and are left embedded in the hot top of the ingot with onearranged in either side thereof, as shown in Figure of the drawings.

After the hot top has been removed from the mold, each of the core-likemembers 2 is removed from or broken out of its embedded position in theside wall of the ingot hot top, preferably, by means of chipping thesame with a chisel or similar tool. It will be seen that after each ofthe core-like members 2 is removed from the hot top of the ingot thatthere is arranged in the opposed side walls thereof, a pair ofdiametrically opposed elongated recesses or notches 8, so as to providea shoulder as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, with which the jaws ofthe stripping mechanism are adapted to cooperate to lift the ingot. Itis preferable that the core-like members ,2 be of such length so as toprovide a recess in the sides of the mold having a width substantiallygreater than the width of the gripping ends of the pair of jaws or tongs'9, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, so as to provide suificientclearance to either side of the jaws and so as to permit the entry ofsame into the recesses with a minimum amount of maneuvering. It will beseen that the opposed jaws ID of the tongs 9 are then positioned in theopposed recesses 8 against the shoulders therein, in the ingot hot topand that the ingot is moved upwardly and the mold is stripped therefrom,by the stripping or other lifting mechanism (not shown).

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is providedrecesses in the not top of the ingot for conveniently and safelyhandling the same. Also, it will be seen that these recesses arearranged in the hot top of the ingot, which is usually scrapped, therebyeliminating the danger of any surface defects or seams resulting in thesurfaces of the slab or bloom into which the ingot is later rolled. Inother words, the gouging 'of the side walls of the ingot by sharp pointsor bits of the tongs is eliminated, and all the gripping action isconfined to the hot top of the inset due to the recesses formed in theopposed walls thereof, in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention.

While I have shown and described one specific embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for thepurpose of illustration and description and that various other forms maybe devised within the scope of my invention, as defined in the appendedclaims. This application is a continuation of my previous application,Serial No. 487,930, filed May 21, 1943, now abandoned.

I claim:

1. In the casting of ingots and the like, the method, which includes thesteps of cementing a fired refractory core-like member on each of atleast two opposed inner side walls of the hot top of the ingot mold,pouring the molten metal in the mold and hot top to a level so that themetal is disposed around the core-like members and extends a substantialheight above them, allowing the metal to cool and solidify, severing thecorelike members from the hot top whereby they remain embedded in theingot, and removing the hot top from the mold.

2. In the casting of ingots and the like, the method which includes thesteps of cementing an elongated fired refractory wedge-shaped corelikemember on each of at least two opposed inner side walls of the hot topof the ingot mold so that the core-like member is disposed substantiallyhorizontal withthe thickest portion of each of the wedge-shapedcore-like members being uppermost, the composition of the core-likemembers being such as substantially to retain their integrity whensubmerged in the molten ingot metal,

pouring the molten metal in the mold and hot top' to a level so that themetal is disposed around the core-like members and extends a substantialheight above them, allowing the metal to cool and solidify, severing thecore-like members from the hot top whereby they remain embedded in theingot, and removing the hot top from the mold.

3. In the casting of ingots and the like, the method which includes thesteps of cementing a fired refractory core-like member on each of atleast two opposed inner'side walls of the hot top of the ingot mold,pouring twe molten metal in the mold and hot top to a level so that themetal is disposed around the core-like members and extends a substantialheight above them, allowing the metal to cool and solidify, severing thecorelike members from the hot top whereby they remain embedded in theingot, removing the hot top from the mold, and finally removing thecorelike members from the ingot so as to provide a recess in each of theside walls of at least two opposed sides of the hot top of the ingot forreceiving the jaws of a crane or other lifting mechanism.

4. In the casting of ingots and the like, the method which includes thesteps of cementing an elongated fired refractory core-like member oneach of at least two opposed inner side walls of the hot top of themold, said core-like members being of such composition as substantiallyto retain their integrity when submerged in the molten metal of whichthe ingot is to be made, pouring the molten metal in the mold and hottop to a level so that the metal is disposed around the core-likemembers and extends a substantial height above them, allowing the metalto cool and solidify, severing the core-like members from the hot topwhereby they remain embedded in the ingot, removing the hot top from themold, and finally removing the core-like members from the ingot so as toprovide a recess in each of the side walls of at least two opposed sidesof the hot top of the ingot for receiving the jaws of a crane or otherlifting mechanism.

5. In the casting of ingots and the like, the method which includes thesteps of cementing an elongated fired refractory wedge-shaped corelikemember on each of at least two opposed inner side walls of the hot topof the ingot mold so that the core-like member is disposed substantiallyhorizontal with the thickest portion of each of the wedge-shapedcore-like members being uppermost, the composition of the core-likemembers being such as substantially to retain their integrity whensubmerged in the molten ingot metal, pouring the molten metal in themold and hot top to a level so that the metal is disposed around thecore-like members and extends a substantial height above them, allowingthe metal to cool and solidify, severing the core-like members from thehot top whereby they remain embedded in the ingot, removing the hot topfrom the mold,

side walls of at least two opposed sides of the hot top of the ingot forreceiving the jaws of a crane The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS or other lifting mechanism. Number Name t MARTINPAPAZIAN 1,749,723 Stevens Mar. 4, 1930 1,994,683 Brown Mar. 19, 1935REFERENCES CITED 2,341,589 Anthony Feb. 15, 1944 2,390,500 Charman et a1Dec. 11,1945

